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Prince William Reflects on 'Brutal' Year as Kate Returns to Public Life

Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP
Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP
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Prince William Reflects on 'Brutal' Year as Kate Returns to Public Life

Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP
Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements 'when I can'. Danny Lawson / POOL/AFP

Her attendance at the events in London are the first time that Catherine, who is widely known as Kate, will be at a major royal occasion since ending chemotherapy.
Buckingham Palace's announcement came as her husband Prince William described the past year in which both Kate and his father battled cancer as "brutal" and probably the "hardest" of his life, said AFP.
Charles, 75, will lead the royal family at two of the most important events in the royal calendar -- Saturday evening's Festival of Remembrance commemorative concert and Sunday's ceremony at the Cenotaph war memorial.
Senior royals traditionally attend the solemn wreath-laying at the monument near parliament alongside political leaders, current and former members of the armed forces, including war veterans.
But the presence of Charles's wife Queen Camilla, 77, has not yet been confirmed after she withdrew from engagements earlier this week due to a chest infection.
Her attendance would be subject to medical advice nearer the time, the palace said.
William, 42, on Thursday revealed how he had coped since both illnesses were announced.
"Honestly, it's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life," he told reporters at the end of a four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.
"So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult."
The palace in February announced that Charles had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo treatment.
The following month Kate, also 42, revealed that she too had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Both have since made limited returns to public duties, although head of state Charles, who recently toured Australia and Samoa, is still undergoing treatment.
'Crack on'
Catherine said in September that she had completed her chemotherapy and was looking forward to undertaking more engagements "when I can".
"I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," William added.
"But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal," he said.
This year's awards ceremony for William's Earthshot prize was held in Cape Town on Wednesday.
The initiative honors projects seeking novel solutions to the challenges facing the world's nature and climate.
William is also committed to a five-year program, Homewards, launched by his philanthropic foundation to tackle homelessness in the UK.
When told he appeared relaxed, William said he "couldn't be less relaxed this year".
"It's more a case of just crack on and you've got to keep going," he said.
"I enjoy my work and I enjoy pacing myself, and keeping sure that I have got time for my family too," he added.
He and Kate have three children together: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis.
In addition to health problems, the royal family has this year faced continuing tensions surrounding William's estranged brother Harry.
Harry's ties with his family have been increasingly fraught since he and wife Meghan quit royal life and moved to California in 2020.
William and Harry used to be close -- a bond that was forged with the death of their mother Princess Diana in 1997. But according to British media reports, they have not spoken to each other in two years.

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World

Iran Judiciary Urges Courts to ‘Speed Up’ Execution Verdicts

Women take part during a ceremony for the memorial of Minab school children who were killed in an airstrike on 28 February, in Tehran, Iran, 07 April 2026. (EPA)
Women take part during a ceremony for the memorial of Minab school children who were killed in an airstrike on 28 February, in Tehran, Iran, 07 April 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Judiciary Urges Courts to ‘Speed Up’ Execution Verdicts

Women take part during a ceremony for the memorial of Minab school children who were killed in an airstrike on 28 February, in Tehran, Iran, 07 April 2026. (EPA)
Women take part during a ceremony for the memorial of Minab school children who were killed in an airstrike on 28 February, in Tehran, Iran, 07 April 2026. (EPA)

Iran's hardline judiciary chief on Tuesday urged courts to speed up verdicts linked to the US-Israeli war, including capital punishment, as activists sounded the alarm about surging hangings of convicts seen as political prisoners.

Since the war began on February 28, Iran has hanged seven people in connection with January protests, six convicted of membership of banned opposition group the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) and a dual Iranian-Swedish citizen on charges of spying for Israel.

Rights groups have warned dozens more are at risk of execution over the January protests or after being arrested on suspicion of helping the enemy during the current war.

"You need to speed up the issuing of sentences for executions and the confiscation of property," judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei told a televised meeting of senior judiciary officials.

Using existing laws on punishing espionage, "it is necessary to continue issuing judicial verdicts for elements and agents of the aggressor enemy with greater speed", he added.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, who now lives in exile, said on Telegram that instead of defending Iranians in the face of threats by US President Donald Trump, Tehran’s response "is to accelerate executions, repression and confiscation of the opposition's property".

Two teenagers are among those who have been executed over the January protests, which were suppressed by authorities in a crackdown that left thousands dead, according to rights groups.

Authorities have branded those facing hanging over those protests as "terrorists" who acted on behalf of Israel and the United States, but rights groups have said they were convicted in "grossly unfair" trials.

"In the midst of the ongoing war, the execution of death sentences for protesters and political prisoners through non-transparent and hasty processes is seen as an attempt to instill fear and maintain control over society," said the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center rights group.

With wartime arrests continuing, national police chief Ahmad Reza Radan was quoted by state media as saying that 85 people had been arrested in 25 provinces for operating in an alleged "organized network" sending location information to Iran's enemies.

"The confessions of the accused and the full details of how they collaborated with the enemy will be published soon," he added.

Rights groups accuse Iranian authorities of using torture to extract from prisoners false confessions that are then broadcast during televisions news bulletins.

World

French Nationals Freed from Detention in Iran, Returning to France, Macron Says

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the opening session of the "One Health Summit" in Lyon, France, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the opening session of the "One Health Summit" in Lyon, France, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (AP)
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French Nationals Freed from Detention in Iran, Returning to France, Macron Says

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the opening session of the "One Health Summit" in Lyon, France, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the opening session of the "One Health Summit" in Lyon, France, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (AP)

‌French nationals Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris are "free and on their way to France after three and a half years of detention in Iran", President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday in a post on X, adding that Oman had mediated their release.

The couple had been held by Iran since 2022 on charges of spying, which France said were unfounded. They were released from the notorious Evin jail in November and had stayed since then at the ‌French embassy.

French ‌Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he ‌had ⁠spoken to the couple.

"They ⁠shared with me their emotion and their joy to return soon to their country and their loved ones," he said in a social media post.

His ministry said Barrot had held discussions at the weekend with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi.

Lawmakers greeted the announcement of their release ⁠with a standing ovation at the National ‌Assembly.

The pair are among dozens ‌of foreign and dual nationals to be held in Iran ‌in recent years, often on espionage-related charges.

Iran's official news ‌agency IRNA confirmed the couple's release, saying it followed an understanding between Tehran and Paris that France would in turn release Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of ‌Lyon.

Esfandiari was arrested last year over anti-Israel social media posts. As part of the ⁠understanding, France ⁠would also withdraw a complaint against Iran in the International Court of Justice, IRNA reported.

The release of the French couple came as US President Donald Trump threatened that "a whole civilization will die tonight" unless Iran reaches a last-minute deal with the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Last Thursday a container ship belonging to French shipping group CMA CGM passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a sign that Iran may not consider France to be a hostile nation.

World

Afghanistan Says Peace Talks Held in China to End Fighting with Pakistan Have Been Constructive

A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)
A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)
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Afghanistan Says Peace Talks Held in China to End Fighting with Pakistan Have Been Constructive

A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)
A Taliban security official patrols in Kabul, Afghanistan, 06 April 2026. (EPA)

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday peace talks held in China between Afghanistan and Pakistan to halt cross-border fighting between the two neighbors have been constructive.

The talks began last week in the western Chinese city of Urumqi following an invitation by China, in an effort to stop the conflict that began between the two countries in February, leaving hundreds dead. Pakistan, which declared it was in “open war” with its neighbor, has also carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including in the capital Kabul.

The United Nations' office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan posted on X Tuesday that the conflict had displaced 94,000 people overall, while 100,000 people in two Afghan districts near the border have been completely cut off by the fighting since February.

The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaeda and the ISIS group, still have a presence in the region.

In a post on X, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal said Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with China’s ambassador to Afghanistan Tuesday, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal wrote on X, thanking Beijing for arranging and hosting the talks, and Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for their mediation efforts.

“Noting that constructive discussions have taken place so far, FM Muttaqi expressed hope that minor interpretations would not hinder the progress of the negotiations,” Takal wrote.

There have been few official statements regarding the discussions since they began on April 1 between mid-level delegations from the two sides.

Even during the talks, Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out shelling across its border on several occasions, killing and wounding civilians. Pakistan has not commented.

Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven to militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 following the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s military commanders vowed to continue ongoing counterterrorism operations until, as they put it, “militant safe havens” are eliminated and “the use of Afghan territory against Pakistan” ends.

The remarks came during a meeting of top military commanders chaired by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to a statement from the military.

The meeting reviewed the prevailing internal and external security environment. The statement said “terrorist proxies” operating on behalf of “external sponsors,” along with their facilitators, would be pursued and eliminated “relentlessly and without exception.”

The recent fighting, the most severe between the two neighbors, began after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October, after earlier fighting had killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

On March 17, a Pakistani airstrike hit a drug-treatment center in Kabul, which Afghan officials said killed more than 400 people. Pakistan denied it had targeted civilians, saying its strikes were against military facilities.